Gloucester Map
Gloucester (i/?l?st?r/) is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a popular summer destination, Gloucester consists of an urban core on the north side of the harbor and the outlying neighborhoods of Annisquam, Bay View, Lanesville, Folly Cove, Magnolia, Riverdale, East Gloucester and West Gloucester.
The boundaries of Gloucester originally included the town of Rockport, in an area dubbed "Sandy Bay." That village separated formally on February 27, 1840. In 1873, Gloucester was reincorporated as a city.
Gloucester was founded at Cape Ann by an expedition called the "Dorchester Company" of men from Dorchester (in the county of Dorset, England) chartered by James I in 1623. This date allows Gloucester to boast the first settlement in what would become the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as this town's first settlement predates both Salem, Massachusetts in 1626, and Boston in 1630. This first company of pioneers made landing at Half Moon Beach, and settled nearby, setting up fishing stages in a field in what is now Stage Fort Park. This settlement's existence is proclaimed today by a memorial tablet, affixed to a 50' boulder in that park.
Nearby cities include Beverly, Rowley, Marblehead, Danvers, Peabody.